catching fish

John 21:1-14

I am impressed by the similarities between the the day that Jesus first called Peter and the gang to be his disciples (Luke 5:1-11), and when Jesus appeared to them again at the Sea of Galilee after His resurrection.

In both cases, they had fished all night and caught nothing.  Then Jesus (a carpenter) instructed the fishermen to try again.  (By the way, I wonder if God allows us to have an unproductive season sometimes so that when we finally obey His prompting, He really gains our attention.)  In the first case, after He got their attention, Jesus told them that they would be fishing for men.  I wonder if, after Jesus's death and resurrection, Peter and the gang had returned to fishing for fish because they didn't yet have a clear directive from Jesus.  I wonder if, after they obeyed Jesus and threw their nets on the other side and caught a huge group of fish, Peter was remembering that day when Jesus called them to be fishers of men.  I wonder if Peter was thinking that he was neither a good fisher of fish nor a good fisher of men.

Heavenly Father, please help me obey you.  Lord, please help me pay attention to you.  I want to be a fisher of men, and I want to trust that you will provide for my family.  I love you, Lord, and I pray in the name of Jesus Christ.